Lazy cooking

I am not the biggest fan of cooking. But I want to eat healthy food and I definitely want my kids to eat healthy food. So I have found ways to be "lazy" about my cooking so that we can eat healthy foods and I don't have to be standing over the stove every night.

Lazy cooking tip #1- Marry a man who likes to cook.
I am very lucky that my husband loves to cook. He likes to make all of the complicated stuff that I'm to lazy to make. However, because of his work schedule, he is only home for dinner on the weekends. He does most of the cooking then. He also will cook dinners on Monday nights and Friday nights when I have rehearsal and get home late. Nothing like walking in the door and all I have to do is take whatever is cooking out of the oven and put it on the table.

Lazy cooking tip #2- Pre-cook.
One of my favorite things to do is make a HUGE crockpot of salsa chicken. I give this recipe to everyone. It is one of the best things I got during my teaching experience in Hilliard, OH--an elementary classroom teacher gave it to me. I don't remember her name anymore, but I can clearly picture her red hair, adorable Southern accent, and her love of Elvis (her daughter's name was Presley).

Crockpot Salsa Chicken- 
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts--put them in the crock pot
dump 1 jar of salsa over them
Cook for 8-10 hours.
Shred.

I serve these in burrito shells with LOADS of chopped veggies, guacamole, and a little bit of sour cream.
I also freeze 2/3 of the chicken for future meals (cook 1x, use 3 times--my kind of cooking!).

I also enjoy browning a big package of ground beef or turkey and then dividing it up and freezing batches to put into recipes later. (Tacos, soup, meat sauce).

Lazy cooking tip #3-Steamed frozen veggies are often our side dishes.
 In the wintertime when I don't have a selection of veggies from our garden, I swear by steamed frozen veggies. No sauces, nothing fancy. Water in the pan, steam in the steamer. Easy peasy.

Lazy cooking tip #4-Chop more than you need, use it next time.
Using peppers for today and tomorrow's dinner? Chop enough for both one day, then the next day your prep work is done!

Lazy cooking tip #5- Store bought rotisserie chicken is my friend.
I will buy these all the time, and whatever we don't eat, I shred up and freeze for future meals. Chicken pot pie, chicken salad, chicken soup--I am not cooking my own chicken to make this.

Lazy cooking tip #6- Store bought chicken broth is my other friend.
I LOVE soup. I'm not making homemade broth. Too much work for me. So after I saute my veggies that I'm using for my soup, I throw in chicken (or beef depending on the soup) broth. Depending on the kind of soup I'm making, it can be done in 15-30 minutes with little prep. Just be careful that you aren't buying broth with MSG in it. Not good for you at all.

Here is my current favorite soup. My 3 year old will DEVOUR it (and this child is picky, but he will eat this).
Spinach soup
I also make a butternut squash soup in a similar way, I just take out the milk and substitute butternut squash for the spinach.

Lazy cooking tip #7-Can we say LEFTOVERS?!
I really try hard to make a large enough amount of food so that I have leftovers to eat another day and can freeze some if it will freeze well. The microwave is a lazy girl's best friend!

What are your lazy cooking tips?